Better Than a Heart

This coming Thursday will be a special day celebrated by millions of people, seemingly the only holiday not designated a federal holiday with paid time off. That day is St. Valentine’s Day. It is a day dedicated to love, especially romantic and familial love, a day to give mushy cards, flowers, chocolate, jewelry, and if you believe advertising, Hoodie-Footie* pajamas with the feet in them.

Oh yeah: and hearts. Red hearts. Lots and lots of hearts. Big hearts, small hearts. The more hearts the better. After all, doesn’t love make the heart beat faster and go “pitty-pat, pitty-pat”? What could be more symbolic or more representative of love than a heart?

Well, actually there is something that speaks more of love than does a heart. That symbol is . . . a cross.

By itself, a physical cross, just two lines or sticks or beams that intersect at right (90 degree) angles, is hardly a representation of love. Nor was the use that such constructions were originally put to, a very loving act; you could say the opposite was true: the cross was a sign of hate, used to instill fear and terror in the minds of anyone who might “cross” a nation’s rulers. The cross saw similar but more recent use in our country when it was burned in a person’s yard, again as a sign of hatred to create fear in the victim.

So how can I say the cross is better than a heart as a sign of love? Easily, because the greatest act of love ever committed was done on a cross. You know what and Who I’m talking about: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Jesus foretold his sacrificial death on the cross when he told his disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Which is exactly what he did when he went to the cross. Romans 5:8 affirms the nature of his sacrifice, saying,”but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Galatians 2:20 and Ephesians 5:2 both speak of how Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. The cross is where he gave his life; the cross is where his love proved itself. The cross is a sign of the greatest love.

It’s not the first time God took something that was evil and used it for good. Back in Genesis we read the story of Joseph, who was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. Thanks to God-given dreams and explanations, Joseph rose to become second in the kingdom, managing the storage and distribution of grain during a severe famine. When his brothers arrived in Egypt seeking grain, Joseph revealed himself to them. They were deathly afraid he would wreak vengeance on them for their sin against him, but his inspired response was to tell them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). In a way, that was a picture of the cross: man meant something evil against Christ, but Christ meant it for good that many people would live – as will his believers for all eternity.

So what about the cross today in the life of believers? What do we think of it? What do we do with it? What part does it play in our lives? I have some thoughts about these questions and others as we approach a day when the focus will be on love.

• The shape of Christ’s Cross: There are many geometric forms a cross can take, and historically, the Romans used several different forms of crosses in the crucifixions they performed. They used T-shaped crosses, in which the crossbeam rested on top of the vertical one; X-shaped crosses (such as St. Andrew died on); and the “Roman Cross,” the one most used in portrayals of Christ’s death, in which the cross beam is fastened part way down the vertical beam, so that there is a vertical section behind and above Christ’s head. While we don’t know for sure, we generally believe it was a “Roman Cross” because of the references to Pilate’s sign, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” Both Matthew 27:37  and Luke 23:38 claim the sign was put on the cross above Jesus’ head; this requires there be the vertical section.
• Making the sign of the cross: Is it required? What does it do? Is it too Catholic for Protestants? This is one of those things our theologians refer to as adiaphora, that is, something that is neither forbidden nor commanded by Scripture. It is not an essential doctrine such as the Resurrection. In other words, whether you cross yourself, or the pastor makes the sign for you, is not essential in itself. It does not make you more holy to do it, nor less holy if you don’t. It does not make you Roman Catholic if you do it, it does not make you a good Protestant if you don’t. Whether we do or not is a matter of Christian liberty as was fasting or dietary choices, such as the eating of meat, to St. Paul (Romans 14:1-4). The reason for crossing oneself is, according to Martin Luther, is as a reminder of one’s baptism, when the sign was made over you with the words, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”And of course, the cross is a reminder of what Christ did for us in taking the punishment for our sins upon himself. Every time we make the sign, we are remembering his death for us and the forgiveness it gave us. Personally, I made the sign as part of leading worship or when I baptized or communed people; but I don’t sign myself as part of private devotions or when sitting in the pew. I respect those who do, and those who don’t; it’s part of the wonderful freedom we have in Christ.
• The cross as jewelry: What was said about making the sign of the cross applies to wearing a cross as jewelry. It’s fine as long as it is a symbol of our identification with Christ, a reminder of his sacrificial death for our sake, and as a silent witness to other people. I’m more comfortable with a simple, plain cross as opposed to a large, jewel encrusted show-piece that calls attention to the wealth of the wearer or the materials of the object. The value of what Christ did on his rough, rugged cross far exceeds any attempt on our part to enhance its symbol.
• The cross as a talisman: According to the authority known as Wikipedia, a talisman is “an object that someone believes holds magical properties that bring good luck to the possessor or protect the possessor from evil or harm.” Whenever I think of such a use, I think of the movie, The Mummy (1999), in which a character gets trapped by the revived mummy. The man desperately tries to save himself by holding up numerous different religious symbols from around his neck, hoping that one of them would stave off the mummy’s expected attack. One of his “talismans” was a cross, which in the movie didn’t help him (don’t worry; a Star of David did). Obviously, this use of a cross is not theologically “approved.” Likewise, in older vampire legends and movies, crosses could be used to ward off the undead because of their holy nature; this also is the wrong use of a cross (Not that we have to worry about vampires). The cross is a symbol of Christ’s death; it has no power in and of itself – only that to which it points has power, and that is the power of God in Christ to forgive our sins by the death of the Lamb. To use it to ward off evil, to excuse a sin we commit, or to show our piety is to commit sorcery, something forbidden by God’s Word (Galatians 5:20).
• The cross: empty or with a figure of Christ on it (crucifix)? Either form reminds us of Christ’s death for our sake. Catholics have usually used the crucifix form as a reminder that Christ suffered and died there to redeem us, and that the benefit of his death continues as if he were being crucified daily for us., which they believe happens in the Eucharist. Most Protestants use a bare cross to emphasize Jesus’ resurrection, since he is no longer on the cross or in the tomb. “He is not here, for he has risen” (Matthew 28:6; also in Mark 16:6 and Luke 24:6). I think that either is okay, because it is not the cross we worship, but the One who died on it and who was raised from the dead three days later. Both messages are part of our faith, and essential to our salvation: Christ did suffer and die; he was raised.

In closing, we should note that only the Christian faith understands and uses the sign of the cross to represent the sacrificial death of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. Other religions, and sects that have broken off of Christianity deny, forbid, or misuse this symbol – but that’s a topic for another time.

Today, and everyday, the message of the cross for us is love, not expressed in mushy sentimental cards and sweet-nothings whispered in our ears, but in the harsh realities of  a horrible death, accepted willingly by One who showed the greatest love of all, by giving his life for his friends – which are you and me. Thanks be to God, who is love!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 50, Romans 14

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